When We're Together [양정완]

12.

Yang Jungwon opened his eyes. It took a moment for his eyes to focus, but once they did, he confusedly glanced at his surroundings, not remembering where he was. He ran his hand through his messy bed head and the memories of the previous day came back to him.

He stayed lying in bed, staring at the ceiling as he recalled what had happened. Chae Aera had fallen asleep on the rooftop.

~

"Aera?" The boy spoke softly as he watched the girl resting peacefully.

"Aera, are you sleeping?" Her only response was series of soft snores.

The boy looked at her and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. It was still raining heavily, and now he was sure he would have to spend the night at her home.

He found himself standing up. The boy checked she was sleeping one last time before he swept her up into his arms. As he walked back towards where he remembered her door was, he could feel her heartbeat against his chest.

Finally, he made it to her apartment and was let inside by a surprised Mrs. Chae who had directed him to Aera's room, and shown him to the guest room.

~

Presently, the male was still in a bit of a confused, tired state, but he managed to make his way to the guest bathroom which, surprisingly, was thoroughly stocked with toiletries, face wash, some skin care, and even new toothbrushes and toothpaste. Attached to the mirror, above the sink, was a small pink note, reading "Feel free to use anything you need," followed by an arrow pointing down.

After he had finished washing up, he checked his phone. It was only 8:20 am. Since it was the weekend, he didn't have anywhere to be so he sat back down on the foot of the bed. But, a few minutes later he found himself bored, staring at the ceiling again, so he pulled out his phone to text somebody.

Jungwon:
Are any of you guys awake?

Jay:
I am
Why?

Jungwon:
I'm bored

Jay:
Have you eaten breakfast?

Jungwon:
Not yet
You made me hungry

Jay:
Go cook yourself breakfast then

Jungwon:
I can't

Jay:
Oh right
I forgot none of you can cook
Must be tough 🥱

Jungwon:
No that's not why LOL
I'm at a friend's house

Jay:
Huh?
How are you bored if you're at a friend's house?
Just talk with them

Jungwon:
I'm pretty sure she's still asleep

Jake:
SHE????

Ni-ki:
SHE????????

Heeseung:
JUNGWON??

Jungwon:
Were you guys awake this whole time?? 😐

Jake:
that's not important.

Sunghoon:
SHE???

Ni-ki:
You're a little late Sunghoon Hyung
But still-
SHE???!?

Jungwon:
It was raining too hard last night
I got stuck at her apartment after I walked her home

Sunoo:
Oh is it her?

Jake:
WHO'S HER???

Jungwon:
It's not important

Sunoo:
Am I right, Won? 🤭

Yang Jungwon removed Kim Sunoo from the chat

Sunghoon:
EH??

Heeseung:
Does Won have a girlfriend?

Jungwon:
NO GUYS WE'RE JUST FRIENDS I PROMISE

The boy turned off his phone and laid on the bed. He was sure they were going to keep pestering him about whoever the girl was until they knew. He sighed.

Chae Aera. That's who the girl was. It wasn't like he didn't want them to know the two were friends or something; It was just that he knew his hyungs (+ Ni-ki) would tease him about it forever, and he didn't want to do that to Aera.

Especially not after he had just figured out she had been rejected. And, on top of it all, he knew there was probably no way she liked him in that way, so it would just make everything awkward. He found his ears turning red at that thought.

The male put his hands on his face and groaned. Suddenly, he heard the door creak open.

"Jungwon?" a familiar calming voice whispered.

The boy sat up, flustered to see the girl his friends all wanted to know about, Chae Aera.

"Oh, you're up already?" She smiled at him. "Breakfast is ready."

The two made their way to the kitchen together, and the girl could tell something was off. The boy was avoiding her gaze and whenever she said something, his answers were always short and curt. As they ate, (her mom and dad had made American style breakfast, which was Aera's favorite,) she kept glancing at him.

For some reason, his messy hair style made his face appear cuter. The girl had the urge to play with his hair again, but she stopped herself. Was he mad at her? Did she do something wrong? Had she done something embarrassing she didn't remember the night before?